Sunday, 5 February 2012

The warlords - The Blood Brothers

The legend of Hang Tuah and
his four sworn brothers, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu, was
said to have served the Malacca ruler Sultan Mansur Shah in the 15th century.

But a wrong turn separates the
brotherhood, believing Hang Tuah to have been unjustly murdered by the Sultan
of Malacca, Hang Tuah’s good friend and loyal aide Hang Jebat goes on a rampage
against the Sultan. However, unknown to him, Hang Tuah is still alive and in
hiding. When the Sultan discovers this, he pardons and recalls Hang Tuah, and commands
him to kill Hang Jebat. The final showdown of the famous duel between Hang Tuah
and Hang Jebat remains a debatable topic until today.

So is Hang Tuah or Hang Jebat
a man or a myth? A fact or a fable? Reality or fiction?

Recently historian Emeritus
Prof Tan Sri Khoo Kay Khim stated that there was no written record of Princess
Hang Li Po, Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat and the stories that have made it into the
history books are just myths.

In spite of the lack of
studies as proof, a host of experts and academics are defending the existence
of Hang Tuah, Many academics believe that the 1537 version Sejarah Melayu
(Malay Annals) offers proof of Hang Tuah’s existence.

A true study of history uses
facts and figures to ascertain intent and draw conclusions. Many things are
simply not cast in stone. Things are seldom black and white even in history
except for dates of birth and death, wars, treaties and the like.

Value systems play a huge role
in what is considered to be wrong and right and part of the challenge is to
discard values to be objective about what happened.

Malay culture holds the Hang
Tuah legends in extremely high regard.The Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat story, whether completely true or not,
represents a paradox in the Malay psyche. In fact, one of the hottest debates in
Malay literature centres on the duel between Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat. Hang
Tuah is a symbol of absolute loyalty to a ruler while Hang Jebat symbolizes
truth and justice. Hence, there is the question of who is right.

In history, most people are not completely right or completel wrong it it just based on the perspective - every coin has two sides.

Folk heroes like Hang Tuah and
Hang Jebat have become embedded in the people’s collective memory for their
bravado and heroic exploits, but more importantly for the values they upheld –
loyalty, valour, love and honour. To debunk these cultural heroes would be to
remove a slice of the people’s pride and what should be a part of our national
identity.